The Monmouth University men's basketball team opened Northeast Conference action with an 80-53 loss to preseason favorite Sacred Heart, in Boylan Gym, in the Hawks' home opener.

Sacred Heart opened the game by hitting three straight three-pointers, and added a three-point play at to snare a 12-0 lead, as Monmouth opened 0-for-6 from the field. The Hawks got on the board at the 15:00 mark when Whitney Coleman dropped in jumper in the lane, cutting the lead to 12-2.

While Monmouth went scoreless over the final 5:35 of the opening stanza, the Pioneers netted the final 10 points of the half to hold a 39-11 edge at the break.

The Pioneers increased the lead to 32 points, 43-11, at 18:10 when Howard threw down a fast break dunk off a pass from Chauncey Hardy. James Hett's layup with 15:30 left made the score 45-17, before Luke Granato answered with a three-pointer from the wing and a 48-17 advantage.

Coleman connected on a wing threepointer with 5:35 left to pull the Hawks within 68-44, and Rutledge's trey with three minutes left made the score 71-48, before SHU ended the game on a 9-5 run to hold for the 80-53 win.

Coleman's 13 points led three Hawks in double-figures in the game, while Youngblood and Rutledge added 12 and 11 points, respectively. Monmouth, which shot just 13.6% in the first half, ended hitting 33.3% from the field.

Monmouth (2-5), which has now lost four straight games in Boylan dating back to last season, suffered its worst league loss since a 28-point defeat to Fairleigh Dickinson on January 17, 1998. The Hawks return to action on Saturday, December 8, when Monmouth hosts Penn at 7 p.m., in Boylan Gym.